Metascore®Overwhelming dislikebased on a weighted average of allcritic review scores.

12

out of 100

ReelViewsJames Berardinelli

This film is like a shiny, red apple that's rotten to the core -- despite slick direction and a glossy sheen, it reeks of decay. Showgirls isn't a good drama, a good thriller, or even good pornography.

The film's big lap-dance sequence is impressive, however, if only for the sheer athleticism of Elizabeth Berkley's contortion. Later, when she pulls the same stunt in a swimming pool, we recognize the show for what it is--a male fantasy film in which the women are little more than rag dolls. [22 Sept 1995]

58

out of 100

Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman

As Nomi, Elizabeth Berkley has exactly two emotions -- hot and bothered -- but her party-doll blowsiness works for the picture.

Parents need to know that this film was adults-only for a reason. As Showgirls gradually enters into the nudie-show environment, topless dancing and sex (often in combo, a la prostitution) become frequent and stop just short of hardcore pornography. Violence includes a brutal gang rape of a sympathetic female character and a man is also beaten viciously. Practically every nasty word there is comes out at one point or another. Characters are stereotyped. A "milder" R-rated cut is available, but this is a review of the more widely available NC-17 movie.

Families can talk about the choices Nomi and the other characters make. What (if anything) ennobles Nomi as more heroic than the other showgirls?

Themes of backstabbing women in the same profession are handled much better in the classic All About Eve. Which movie seems more realistic?

Why do you think this movie is NC-17? Did it dissuade viewers from seeing it? Find out more about ratings controveries in the mature documentary This Film Is Not Yet Rated.

The good stuff

Messages: Theme about a strong woman holding on to her integrity and not lowering herself to become a "whore" even though mired in the sex-show trade. But the whole movie is so sleazy it strongly gives the opposite message. Nomi's moral victory: abandoning her topless career to avenge (toplessly) her one true friend.

Role models: Only one character, Molly, seems thoroughly decent (though she works backstage on an upscale sex show), and her "reward" is assault and rape. Brash heroine Nomi is repeatedly disparaged as a "whore," a label she fights (but third-act revelation is that she really is one, with a rap sheet). Plenty of negative racial stereotyping to go around: Asians are shown as leering businessmen, etc.

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